Live blog: ICC comes under fire at UNSC over Gaza inaction

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

1854 GMT — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, faced strong criticism from UN Security Council members for not issuing arrest warrants for those responsible for massacres in Gaza.

Denouncing Khan for not issuing the warrants, Libyan envoy Taher M El-Sonni said: "The world wants you to discover those involved in the mass graves, mass crimes against children, the genocide, the ethnic cleansing perpetrated in the 'holocaust' of the 21st century, the Gaza holocaust."

During a Council meeting on Libya, El-Sonni asked Khan: "If the case in Libya is so complex, and the evidence that condemned the suspects are hard to get and you use the passive voice all the time. Isn't it better to allocate your resources and your efforts to what is more clear and what is easier, Mr. Khan? I'm talking about Gaza."

He emphasised that the world expects the ICC to be "courageous" and issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials who repeatedly commit genocide against Palestinians.

"What are you waiting for Mr. Khan?" El-Sonni asked. He asked if the Khan saw the risk of a massacre in Rafah.

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1830 GMT — Israel was informed about vehicle fatally hit in Gaza: UN

The United Nations said it had informed the Israeli authorities of the movements of a vehicle carrying UN staff which was hit in southern Gaza, killing one.

One UN security services member was killed and another wounded in the attack on Monday, the United Nations said, marking the first death of a UN international employee in the Palestinian territory since the war began more than seven months ago.

The employee killed was an Indian national, UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told a media briefing.

1826 GMT — Women, children at least 56% of Gaza war dead: UN

Women and children make up at least 56 percent of the thousands killed in the Gaza war, the UN said, amid controversy over the toll based on numbers from the health ministry in Gaza.

The United Nations was clarifying a fresh breakdown of the death toll in Gaza.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said the new breakdown did not contradict previous estimates that women and children made up more than two thirds of those killed.

1800 GMT — White House's Sullivan to travel to Saudi Arabia, Israel: report

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend, a US official said as Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah, stoking fears of additional civilian deaths.

Additional details on his trip were not available.

The visit would come as the United States continues to press Israel to hold off on a major military ground incursion into Rafah, one of the border crossings in Gaza where more than a million people had been sheltering.

1624 GMT — 'Appalled' by escalating military activity in Rafah: UN chief

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "appalled" by Israel's escalating military offensive in and around Rafah, a spokesperson said, as clashes have rocked the densely crowded southern Gaza city.

"These developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation", Farhan Haq said.

1622 GMT — Egypt denounces Israel's comment that Cairo is behind closure of Rafah crossing

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry denounced what he called Israel's attempt to blame Egypt for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Shoukry added in a statement that Israel's seizure of the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt as well as its military operations in the area were the main reasons for aid being unable to enter Gaza.

1603 GMT — US joins calls for 'full investigation' after UN vehicle fatally fired upon in Gaza

The US joined calls for a "full investigation" into an attack on a UN vehicle in besieged Gaza that killed one UN staffer and injured another.

"Humanitarian workers must be protected as they continue their lifesaving work. We join calls for a full investigation into this incident," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X.

The Israeli military said the vehicle that was struck Monday in Rafah in southern Gaza was in an "active combat zone," and said it was not able to confirm if Israeli forces had fired at the UN vehicle.

Hamas accused Israel of firing on the car. Israel said it is investigating the shooting.

1555 GMT — Aid workers should 'never be target': WFP chief

The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that he is "devastated" by Monday's attack on UN team members in Gaza.

"Devastated to learn of the death and injury of UN team members in Gaza yesterday. WFP stands united with the global humanitarian community in mourning our 190 colleagues killed in Gaza," WFP chief Cindy McCain said on X.

"Aid workers are not – and should never be – a target," McCain said.

1524 GMT — Humanitarian aid airdrops in Gaza 'clearly not enough': UK minister

Britain's minister for the Middle East said humanitarian aid air drops are "clearly not enough" to meet Palestinians' needs in Gaza, which is on the "brink of famine."

"Evidence of that is very clear," Tariq Ahmad said at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee oral evidence session as part of its inquiry into the UK's engagement with the Middle East and North Africa.

Asked whether the UK government accepts that there is a famine in Gaza, Ahmad said that Gaza is on the "brink of famine."

1427 GMT — Nearly 450,000 displaced from Gaza's Rafah since May 6: UN

The United Nations said that nearly 450,000 people have been displaced from Rafah since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for the south Gaza city eight days ago.

At the same time, another 100,000 people have fled their homes amid renewed fighting in northern Gaza, the UN said, meaning that around a quarter of Gaza's population of around 2.4 million people has been displaced again in just over a week.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said that it estimated "that nearly 450,000 people have been forcibly displaced from Rafah since 6 May."

1422 GMT — 20 killed as Israeli jets hit house sheltering nearly 100 Palestinians in Gaza

At least 20 people were killed when Israeli warplanes hit a house sheltering nearly 100 Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza, medical sources told Anadolu news agency.

The Civil Defence Service said that its teams had recovered eight bodies from the Karaja family building, and rescued dozens of others, mostly women and children.

Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu news agency that the building was sheltering dozens of displaced people.

1411 GMT — Working to break deadlock in Gaza ceasefire talks: Qatar

Qatar has said that it seeks to revive negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Our mediation between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza continues, and we are working to evaluate it," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.

"We will not accept being exploited by any party," he added.

The spokesperson said Israel does not have a roadmap to end the war in Gaza. "We continue to work with our brothers in the region and with Washington to break the deadlock in the talks between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza," al-Ansari said.

1346 GMT — Palestinian truckers fear for safety after aid convoy for Gaza wrecked

Palestinian hauliers said they feared for the security of aid convoys to Gaza, a day after Israeli protesters wrecked trucks carrying humanitarian supplies bound for the enclave, which is facing a severe hunger crisis.

Footage circulated on social media showed at least one burning truck while other images showed trucks wrecked and stripped of their loads, which lay strewn over the road near Tarqumiya checkpoint outside Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

"Yesterday there was coordination for 70 trucks of aid to go the Gaza Strip," said Waseem Al-Jabari, Head of the Hebron Food Trade Association.

1343 GMT — Attacks by Israeli extremists on aid convoys Gaza appalling: UK

The British foreign secretary said attacks on aid convoys carrying foods to Gaza are "appalling," urging Israel to hold those "extremists" to account.

"Attacks by extremists on aid convoys en route to Gaza are appalling," David Cameron wrote on X, stressing that Gazans are at risk of famine and in desperate need of supplies.

A video circulating on social media on Monday showed illegal Israeli settlers blocking the vehicles and throwing food aid boxes at Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The food-carrying trucks were later set on fire.

1306 GMT — Israeli army claims UN vehicle struck in 'active combat zone' in Rafah

The Israeli army claimed that a United Nations vehicle that was struck in Rafah in southern Gaza was in an "active combat zone."

A UN staff member employed by the UN Department of Safety and Security was killed and another injured after their vehicle came under fire in Rafah while driving to the European Hospital in southern Gaza.

The army claimed that it was not aware of the movement of the UN vehicle.

1227 GMT — Over 400 illegal Israeli settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

More than 400 illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem amid restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the site, according to a Palestinian agency.

"Some 423 illegal settlers stormed the complex, with some settlers waving the Israeli flag," the Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said in a statement.

"The Israeli police dealt nicely with the settlers who waved the flag of the Israeli occupation," it added.

1217 GMT — Israeli forces repeatedly target aid workers in Gaza: HRW

Human Rights Watch said that Israel had repeatedly targeted known aid worker locations in Gaza, even after their coordinates were provided to Israeli authorities to ensure their protection.

The rights watchdog said that it had identified eight cases where aid convoys and premises were targeted, killing at least 15 people, including two children.

They are among more than 250 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted more than seven months ago, according to UN figures. In all eight cases, the organisations had provided the coordinates to Israeli authorities, HRW said.

1215 GMT — Palestine cites threats to withdraw petition for Israel's exclusion from FIFA

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has received Israeli threats to withdraw a petition demanding Israel's exclusion from the football governing body FIFA, according to its head.

Last month, PFA submitted a petition to sanction and exclude Israel from FIFA on the grounds of human rights and humanitarian law violations in Gaza.

The governing body will discuss the petition on Friday.

1203 GMT — Norway aims to quadruple aid to Palestinians as famine looms

The Norwegian government proposed $92.5 million in aid to Palestinians this year as humanitarian agencies warn of a looming famine in Gaza.

Figures in the revised budget presented on Tuesday, show a roughly quadrupling of the $23.8 million provided in the initial finance bill adopted last year.

"The urgent need of aid in Gaza is enormous after seven months of war," Norway's Minister of International Development, Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, said in a statement.

1203 GMT — Germany 'deeply disturbed' over abuse of Palestinian detainees

Germany voiced concern over the Israeli military's human rights violations, and called for a "full investigation" into the incidents of psychological and physical abuse.

"Reports of mistreatment of inmates at a prison camp in the Negev Desert are deeply disturbing," a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said, responding to a question about CNN's report on secret detention centre.

"Corresponding allegations of psychological and physical abuse, which can never be justified, must be fully investigated. We are also raising this with our Israeli contacts," he said.

1157 GMT — Israeli police investigate ransacking of Gaza-bound aid trucks

Israeli police said in a statement that they have opened an investigation after right-wing activists stopped and ransacked at least seven Gaza-bound humanitarian aid trucks.

In an attack that was condemned by Washington, a crowd including young men and teenagers attacked the convoy from Jordan on Monday near the Tarqumya crossing with the occupied West Bank.

The attackers hurled the food cargo bound for besieged Gaza — including bags of cereal, rice, flour, packets of biscuits and freeze-dried soup — to the ground and trampled it.

1131 GMT — Israel getting increasingly alienated, isolated: Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel, which has continued its military offensive in Gaza for more than seven months, is getting "more alienated and isolated" due to its policies.

"Israel is getting increasingly alienated and isolated by the international community," Fidan told a press conference alongside his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg in Ankara.

"Just as it was wrong to kill innocent Jews in concentration camps, it's equally wrong to kill innocent Palestinian children in their beds with bombs," Fidan said, referring to the killing of more than 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children in Gaza since an October 7 Hamas attack that claimed 1,200 lives last year.

The top diplomat said Israel's killing of "thousands of innocent Palestinians, displacement of millions of people is an act of genocide."

1105 GMT — Humanitarian aid unable to reach Gaza since May 9: Qatar

Humanitarian aid has been unable to reach Gaza since May 9 when Israel launched incursions into its far-southern city of Rafah and closed aid crossings, Qatar's foreign ministry has said.

"Our brothers in the Gaza Strip have not received any aid since May 9, and this is an indication of the continued perpetuation of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza," ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari told a Doha news conference.

1051 GMT — Nothing wrong with Gaza death toll figures: WHO

The World Health Organization has voiced full confidence in Gaza Ministry of Health death toll figures, saying they were actually getting closer to confirming the scale of losses after Israel questioned a change in the numbers.

This sparked allegations from Israel of inaccuracy since Palestinian authorities had previously estimated that more than 70 percent of those killed were women and children.

UN agencies have republished the Palestinian figures, which have since risen above 35,000 dead, citing the source.

"Nothing wrong with the data, the overall data (more than 35,000) are still the same," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier at a Geneva press briefing in response to questions about the toll.

1048 GMT — ICJ to hold hearings on Israel's invasion of Rafah this week

The UN's International Court of Justice will hold hearings on Thursday and Friday to discuss new emergency measures sought by South Africa over Israel's invasion of Rafah during its brutal war on Gaza, the tribunal has said.

The hearings on May 16 and 17 will deal with South Africa's request to the court to order more emergency measures against Israel over its attacks on Rafah, the tribunal added, part of an ongoing case, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians.

1030 GMT — UN says its convoy was attacked by Israel despite being clearly marked and announced in advance

The United Nations has said that a UN convoy that was attacked in Gaza a day earlier, killing an Indian staff member and injuring another staffer, was clearly marked and its planned movements had been announced in advance to Israeli authorities.

Rolando Gomez, a UN spokesman in Geneva, told a regular briefing that the UN informs Israeli authorities of the movement of all its convoys in Gaza.

“This is a standard operating procedure. That was the case yesterday morning," Gomez said.

Gomez said the death of the security staffer — whom he identified as an Indian national — was “a sheer illustration that there is really nowhere safe in Gaza at the moment,” and that the convoy was on its way to the European Hospital in Rafah.

0936 GMT — UN agency says nearly 450,000 displaced from Gaza's Rafah since May 6

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees has said that nearly 450,000 people have been displaced from Rafah since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for the south Gaza city eight days ago.

"UNRWA estimates that nearly 450,000 people have been forcibly displaced from Rafah since May 6," the agency said on X, formerly Twitter, without specifying where they fled to.

0818 GMT — Illegal Israeli settler waves Israeli flag while storming into the Aqsa Mosque

An illegal Israeli settler has raised the Israeli flag while storming into the Aqsa Mosque complex in the occupied East Jerusalem.

Following calls by extremist Israeli groups, illegal settlers stormed into the Aqsa Mosque complex to mark Israel's Independence Day event during which one Israeli stormed into the mosque holding an Israeli flag.

While Israelis mark May 15 as their independence day and Israel's creation, the Palestinian people mark it as their "Nakba Day" to reaffirm their right to return to the lands from which their ancestors were forcibly displaced.

0800 GMT — Red Cross sets up Rafah emergency field hospital

The International Red Cross and partners have set up a field hospital in southern Gaza to try to meet what it described as an "overwhelming" demand for health services since Israel's military attacks on Rafah began last week.

Some health clinics have suspended activities while patients and medics have fled from a major hospital as Israel has stepped up bombardments in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of uprooted people are crowded together.

"People in Gaza are struggling to access the medical care they urgently need due, in part, to the overwhelming demands for health services and the reduced number of functioning health facilities," the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

"Doctors and nurses have been working around the clock, but their capacity has been stretched beyond its limit."

0755 GMT — Israel's Rafah attack set Gaza ceasefire talks back: Qatar

Israel's military offensive in Rafah has set truce negotiations with Palestinian group Hamas "backward", mediator Qatar said, adding that talks have reached "almost a stalemate".

"Especially in the past few weeks, we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately things didn't move in the right direction and right now we are on the status of almost a stalemate," Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the Qatar Economic Forum.

"Of course, what happened with Rafah has set us backward."

0725 GMT — Bangladesh slams illegal Israeli settlers’ attack on aid convoy carrying food for Gaza

Bangladesh has condemned the attacks by illegal Israeli settlers in Palestine on a Jordanian humanitarian convoy carrying food for civilians in Gaza.

Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry on Facebook denounced the incident seeking unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza.

It called on the Israeli occupation authorities to put an end to these settlers’ violence and protect humanitarian convoys.

0543 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 35,173 : ministry

Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 35,173 Palestinians and wounded 79,061 since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

There have been 82 Palestinians killed and 234 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.

Palestinian Civil Defense estimates around 100 people were inside one home that was targeted by Israeli warplanes in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.

0305 GMT — 'Israel has amassed enough troops to launch incursion into Rafah': US

The US has assessed that Israel has amassed enough troops on the edge of the southern Gaza city of Rafah for a large-scale military offensive in the coming days, CNN reported.

Two senior administration officials told CNN they are unsure whether Israel has made a final decision to carry out such a move in direct defiance of President Joe Biden.

According to CNN, one of the officials warned that Israel has not come anywhere close to making adequate preparations including building infrastructure related to food, hygiene and shelter ahead of potentially evacuating more than one million Palestinians in Rafah.

0032 GMT — US destroys Houthi targets in Yemen, over Red Sea

The US has destroyed unmanned aerial systems and a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi group, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.

"At approximately 0841 GMT on May 13, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) in Houthi controlled area of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement.

It also successfully engaged and destroyed an inbound anti-ship ballistic missile launched by Houthis over the Red Sea, it added.

2323 GMT — Jordan condemns attack on UN personnel in Gaza

Jordan has condemned the Israeli targeting of a UN vehicle in Gaza that left a local UN employee killed and a Jordanian worker wounded.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry called "for protecting UN and aid workers who play a major humanitarian role for the Palestinians in light of the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip."

The statement held "Israel, as the occupying power, responsible for this attack as a result of its ongoing war on Gaza."

2300 GMT — Israel kills and wounds more than a dozen in strike on Gaza home

Israeli occupation army has struck a home in Gaza's Nuseirat camp, killing and wounding more than a dozen people, official Palestinian news agency WADA reported.

Citing, medical sources, it said among the 14 dead including children. WAFA said "dozens" of Palestinians wounded in the strike on a three-storey home.

2300 GMT — Italy's 5-Star Movement slams government's policy

Italy's opposition 5-Star Movement has slammed the government over its policy on Israel's war on Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting of the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Giuseppe Conte, who led two separate governments from 2018-2021, said Italy's abstention during voting at the UN General Assembly in May on Palestine's bid for membership in the United Nations, was "shameful."

By doing so, the government proved it is indifferent to what has been happening in Gaza and Rafah, he said.

Noting that at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October last year, Conte said "there is no need for you to be a jurist and know about international humanitarian law to find this unacceptable."

Maintaining that what has happened since October has been terrible, he added: "However, the reaction against it is unacceptable. Israel has a right to self-defence, but what is going on is not acceptable."

2000 GMT — Top Biden official doubts Israel can achieve 'total victory'

The Biden administration does not see it likely or possible that Israel will achieve "total victory" in defeating Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has said.

While US officials have urged Israel to help devise a clear plan for the governance post-war Gaza, Campbell's comments are the clearest to date from a top US official effectively admitting that Israel's current military strategy won't bring the result that it is aiming for.

"In some respects, we are struggling over what the theory of victory is," Campbell said at a NATO Youth Summit in Miami. "Sometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they talk about mostly the idea of....a sweeping victory on the battlefield, total victory," he said.

"I don't think we believe that that is likely or possible and that this looks a lot like situations that we found ourselves in after 9/11, where, after civilian populations had been moved and lots of violence that...the insurrections continue."

2030 GMT — White House adviser says Israel risks endless counterinsurgency

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said that the US administration has expressed concerns to Israeli officials about becoming "mired in a counterinsurgency campaign that never ends" as Israel's War Cabinet remains focused on carrying out invasion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The comments from a top adviser to President Joe Biden came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned that Israel could be left "holding the bag" on an enduring insurgency in post-war Gaza.

"Look, we have painful experience in counterinsurgency campaigns fighting terrorists in urban environments, in populated areas," said Sullivan, referring to long US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "And we know that it is not as simple as executing a military operation and calling it a day."

Sullivan added that, "One of the risks of engaging in any kind of counterinsurgency campaign is the ability of the terrorist group to attract more recruits and more followers as time goes on."

For our live updates from Monday, May 13, click here.